INFRA News & Events

Twenty-six years ago, a popular film starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks forewarned the end of independent retailers. Big-box chain stores dominated the cultural and economic landscape, and the story went that little ‘mom and pops’ founded by caring, passionate people, were on their way out.

The founders of INFRA had a different idea. Inspired to imagine a successful future for independents, they banded together in 2005 to challenge the popular narrative, buck the trends, and remind the natural products industry that our stores are the beating heart and expanding lungs of our local communities. That audacity: to imagine a future against innumerable odds, is core to what makes independent retailers so special.

In late September of 2024, a massive hurricane hit Western North Carolina. Whole neighborhoods were left without power or running water for several days. Rosanne Kiely and her team at West Village Market, a small store in Asheville, opened their doors to the public - summarizing orders on paper, accepting cash and writing down credit card and EBT numbers on paper (on the honor system) to charge weeks later, knowing that some of those charges might not go through. Feeding their community, no matter the odds.

Nearby in Greenville, South Carolina, Mary Walsh, Jac Oliver, and their team at Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery donated perishable goods to local emergency response teams. Despite flooding in their cafe, they kept their retail space open to customers, handing out flashlights at the door. They ran transactions offline, and when power was restored to the store, set up charging stations for community members who were still without power. As their Member Business Advisor Cam Rivers noted, they have continually used their active social media presence to encourage support of local vendors whose businesses suffered from the storm.

   Jac & Mary, Owners of Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery 

Their communities counted on them to imagine creative ways to open their doors in this difficult moment, and Swamp Rabbit and West Village Market showed up in spades.

Across the country, several months later, Carla’s Fresh Market announced a bake sale to support relief efforts for people and businesses affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles County. Carla’s had just opened their doors two years prior, and had already become a mainstay in their communities of Highland Park and Northeast LA. After losing a close friend, Ariell Ilunga, a Los Angeles native, envisioned a neighborhood grocery store that celebrated the diversity of her city through the vibrancy of food. The bake sale was just another example of how Carla’s brought people together to imagine a future out of the ashes—and the neighborhood showed up in droves. 

     Ariell Ilunga, Founder & Owner of Carla's Fresh Market

As INFRA continues to imagine its future, one where 1,000 independent stores are not only surviving but thriving at the heart of their communities, we draw inspiration from these stories of resilience, imagination, and heart. It is in these moments of courage and creativity that we glimpse the very future our founders envisioned: a future where values-driven retailers are indispensable to the wellbeing of their neighborhoods.

This spirit guided the INFRA board and team as we crafted our Vision Statement in 2023:

We see a future where independent natural food retailers are thriving at the heart of every community, strengthening their local economies, and committed to making healthy, sustainable food accessible to all.

This vision is not just a destination, it’s a shared journey. We are committed to advancing it through intentional growth: expanding our reach, deepening our partnerships, and investing in tools and programs that build resilience and power for all INFRA Members.

As we celebrate 20 years of cooperation and collective progress, we invite you to imagine the next 20 with us. What future do you see for your store, your community, and this movement? Let’s build it…together.

With gratitude and determination,

Emily Kanter, Board Chair Co-Founder & CEO of Cambridge Naturals

Pat Sheridan, President & CEO